Check Your Hearing

Online Hearing Check

Strongly DisagreeStrongly Agree

Identifying and addressing hearing loss allows you to improve your quality of life—because dealing with it enables you to stay involved in the things you love and to stay connected with the people you love.

So go ahead. Join millions of others in taking that first step. In the privacy and comfort of your own home—at a time that is right for you—take the confidential, online BHI Hearing Check at no charge. Just click here at any time to start. We’ll walk you through it.

Online Hearing Check Results

Congratulations! You have taken the first step toward discovering a world of better hearing.

SUMMARY

Your hearing loss would be described as: .
No action needed.

DETAIL REPORT

Your Check Score: You scored 4 out of a possible 60 points. The remainder of this report will tell you what your score means.

Your Check Norm: Your score of 4 is at the 3 percentile of people with hearing loss in the United States, where low percentages mean lower hearing losses and high percentages mean more serious hearing losses compared to other people with hearing loss.

Predicted Hearing Loss: Objective hearing loss is measured in what is called decibels (dB). This is a unit of measure that indicates the extent of your hearing loss as defined by the field of audiology. Perhaps it is first best to consider the relative intensity of some sounds in decibels to understand this measure. Here are some everyday sounds and their measured intensity in decibels (dB): whisper (10 dB), light rain or faucet dripping (20-30 dB), rustling of leaves (40 dB), normal conversation (50 dB), singing birds (60 dB), air conditioner (80 dB), MP3 player (100 dB). If your results, for example, show a dB loss of 35, that means you will not be able to hear any sounds below your hearing loss, such as whispers or the rustling of leaves. But it also means that you will have extreme difficulty in understanding sounds in a range close to your dB loss, such as normal conversation at 50 dB.

Your predicted hearing loss in your better ear in the speech range (500, 1000, and 2000 Hz) is 19 dB, while your predicted hearing loss in both ears at five key frequency ranges (500, 1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000 Hz) is 28 dB. The chances that you have a significant hearing loss (defined as 40 dB or higher) is estimated at 29 percent.

Subjective Hearing Loss Description: Based on the responses of more than 10,000 people with hearing loss and their family members, they would describe your hearing loss as: .

What Your Hearing Loss Means for Your Quality of Life: Research has shown that the higher your predicted hearing loss, the more likely the following quality-of-life factors may be negatively affected:

irritability, negativism and anger

fatigue, tension, stress and depression

avoidance or withdrawal from social situations

social rejection and loneliness

reduced alertness and increased risk of personal safety

impaired memory and ability to learn new tasks

reduced job performance and earning power

diminished psychological and overall health

What should you do next? Based on your score, we recommend the following: No action needed. Now hearing loss is situational, and the next step you take is dependent on your need to hear in various listening situations. Some people can live with mild hearing losses. Others, such as teachers and therapists whose auditory skills are very important for their everyday work, require corrective technology — such as hearing aids — even when their hearing loss is at mild levels. It becomes important for them to do something about their hearing loss so they can function adequately in their work environment.